Hanging in the Big City

I should have seen this coming but it still sort of came out of left field. N had a game down in the southern part of the state, near the NH capital, and also near his girlfriend (okay, I said it, though I don't know what exactly the status is). I figured it would be a good opportunity for him to hang out with her but he didn't say anything, so I left it at that. It's not an easy thing for me because his game was at 9:00AM, which meant I was up by 5:00AM, woke him up at 6:00, and we were out the door by 6:30. It takes about an hour and a half to get there. While I'm totally stoked for him for having a girlfriend, after his game, all I wanted to do is go home and take a phat nap. If he wanted to hang, I'd have to kill several hours in the even bigger city. It helps that Concord is pretty big, and there are places to hang, but that still doesn't beat a comfortable couch and bowl of peanuts.

Anyway, I hadn't heard anything leading up to the weekend, and I figured I was home free to salvage the rest of my day, but then last night, right as we were getting ready for bed, he asked me if he could hang out with her. Ouch! How could I say no? We were going to be down there, and who am I to stand in the way of young love?

So here I sit, in a bookstore in the big city, working on my blog, writing letters, and hopefully working on my glorious novel, whatever that means. The key is having access to an outlet so my battery won't die. I even managed to get in a quick nap, if you can believe that. The crazy thing is that there is clearly a contingent of people who are doing the exact same thing, though the activities may differ. We've all commandeered a group of tables along the perimeter of the room and we're all faking like we're doing work. The person directly next to me is a heavyset individual of unknown origin who has spent the past several hours (4-5) playing a game on his/her phone. How is that even possible? It's pretty sad, in my opinion, and to make matters worse, he or she is chewing tobacco and spitting into a cup. Yikes! Moving down the row, a couple of people have set up their laptops or tablets and have not left their seats, and then there are the two ladies who are knitting. It's pretty hard to fathom, though I guess I should be grateful to said bookstore for allowing us to use this space and their internet, even if the WiFi is terrible and doesn't work. I'm using the WiFi of the business directly next door.

I've been here for a few hours, and if I can make it for a couple more, I'm in pretty good shape. I told N that we will meet in the evening to give him maximal time with his girl, but that means I have to entertain myself during that time. I already hit Shaws and got some groceries, and I could even get a bite to eat (there are countless dining options) and use the restaurant's WiFi, but I'm not sure if that's worth it. I actually prepared for this event and brought enough food to get me through to suppertime, and then some, but that means bologna sandwiches for breakfast, lunch, and dinner... just kidding, I haven't eaten bologna in over 25 years.

So three hours down, at least three more to go, maybe more. I was going to try to watch some of the Olympics but the WiFi is so bad I don't have any illusions that I can stream any video. I tell you, it ain't easy being a father who wants his kids to be lucky in love.

Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Rene Schwietzke for the pic.